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China has between 400 and 500 U.S.-dollar billionaires, according to Shanghai's Hurun Report. With Beijing seeking to cool the country's housing market, there's more money in retail than in real estate this year, with the owners and executives of beverage companies, clothing lines and appliance retailers all making big bucks.

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China's opaque government makes the country less efficient than is commonly believed, and India's tangled but transparent bureaucracy gives it a potential edge over its rival, writes Michael Schuman. "India's democratic system has produced a tremendous amount of economic reform over the past 20 years. ... China, despite the fact that it is an authoritarian regime, often gets stuck in political paralysis," Schuman notes.

Political turbulence in China -- including the flight last week of dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng -- could mean big problems for companies in the region, writes Bill Powell. If nothing else, the disruption shows that China's political and economic system is far less stable than many people believe. "Despite the massive bets placed on this place by companies across the globe, we can't assume anything about China," Powell warns.

Sales of luxury goods in China are slated to grow about 20% this year, spurring attempts by retailers to better understand the growing consumer base. Chinese luxury consumers tend to be independently wealthy and younger than upper-income consumers in other countries, WWD reports; the country is also seeing a rapid rise in the number of "aspirational" shoppers who will save from relatively small salaries to buy designer goods.

Mobile analytics firm Flurry has estimated that Google sold 20,000 of its Nexus One smartphones since its Jan. 5 debut -- a small debut when compared with the Droid's first-week debut of 250,000 units for Verizon Wireless. And industry observers warn that Google's fight with China over Internet censorship could imperil its push for carriers to adopt phones carrying the Android operating system in that country.